Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate him and his Department on their fantastic work on the national drugs strategy. There are some terrific initiatives which must be welcomed and supported. It is a good structure to properly tackle the serious problems drugs have brought to urban centres, in particular.

As Senator McHugh said, this problem is not confined to urban centres. I come from the regions, in which there is a growing problem in places such as Letterkenny, Sligo and even smaller towns. We have a huge responsibility to try to nip these problems in the bud. This week the local Sligo newspaper alludes in its headline to the growing cocaine problem in the town and its environs. We have a responsibility to tackle these problems as they develop. Even though we know the problem is at an advanced stage in Dublin, Limerick and other cities, we should not overly focus on solving their problems while neglecting the developing problems of smaller towns in rural Ireland. While there are many good initiatives afoot, we must strive to make drug taking uncool. So many films these days actively glamourise drug taking with some of our favourite stars. Senator Ó Murchú alluded to the fact that this glamour must be eliminated and that we must be draconian in the measures used to deal with the suppliers of drugs. This must be done as a matter of urgency.

Senator Bradford spoke about the alcohol problem. Together with drugs, alcohol presents the biggest single problem in the country. During a debate in the House a number of weeks ago I called for the issue to be tackled vigorously because the level of under age drinking was completely unacceptable. I called for the introduction of a compulsory national identification card scheme which would help eliminate under age drinking.

To solve the drugs problem one must tackle the culture. As Senator Brady said, education is the key to prevention. We must seek to find viable alternatives for young people to enjoy themselves without peer pressure or the focus being on drinking or trying out certain drugs. That is where our responsibility lies and we should pump as many resources as possible into it.

I wish the Minister of State well with the national drugs strategy and I am sure he will have the support of everyone in the House in that regard. I hope there is unity in the approach to tackling the issue and that we will continue to make progress.